🏟️ NBA viewership continues to decline

Ratings down across the board

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2024-2025 NBA ratings are down…

A month and a half into the new season, and NBA ratings are down across the board:

  • NBA Cup Viewership: Down 10%

  • ESPN Viewership: Down 28%

  • 2024 Playoff Viewership: Down 12%

The ratings drop has been potentially worrying for NBA and media executives — considering the NBA signed their new media rights deal, which is nearly 3x the annual revenue the league brings in from its current contract.

Plus, the league is expanding their offering to Amazon Prime and NBC, in addition to remaining on the Disney-owned ABC and ESPN.

With the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup semi-finals kicking off this weekend, the league hopes this tournament will boost their ratings.

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🏈 Ahead of this weekend’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, Adidas has signed a multi-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Colorado two-way star and award finalist Travis Hunter.

🤑 Juan Soto signs a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the largest deal in professional sports history.

🏆 Caitlin Clark was officially named TIME’s 2024 Athlete of the Year, while a renowned valuation expert in the field of finance researched and estimated that Clark had an economic impact on the city of Indianapolis of over $36 million.

👥 Cousins and former teammates Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady became minority owners in the Buffalo Bills, joining a group of 10 other limited partners to the franchise’s ownership group.

✅ NFL and Nike extend their official uniform partnership through 2038 as the Swoosh has been the league’s exclusive supplier of uniforms and team apparel for the last 12 years.

💰 AJ Dybantsa – the top-ranked prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft class – has committed to BYU with a reported NIL package of $7 million.

👟 Kobe’s signature sneaker line with Nike continues to dominate the NBA, with four of his shoe models ranking in the top 10 for most-worn sneaker models (by total playing time) this season across the league.

🏀 Brandon Dwyer (Florida Gulf Coast), Xaivian Lee (Princeton), Anna Camden (Richmond) and Amish Simmons (San Jose State) are the most undervalued marketable college basketball athletes, according to Out2Win Sports official 2024-25 College Basketball Athlete Marketability Report.

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🎄 Netflix continues to roll out its NFL on Christmas Day talent lineup as they just announced Kay Adams, Robert Griffin III, Mina Kimes, Drew Brees, Manti Te’o, as well as performances from Mariah Carey and Beyoncé.

🚨 Following a weekend of college football team rivalries and brawls, a bill has been introduced in Ohio that would make it a felony to plant a flag in the center of Ohio Stadium.

🌎 The NFL is officially heading to Berlin, Germany for the league’s first-ever regular season game set for 2025.

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